Motor-driven boat.



IFIITO. 872,356. PATENTED D50. 3, 190?.

H. LBMP. MOTOR DRIVEN BOAT.

APPLICATION I'I LBD MAY 27, 1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Witnesses: I D I I Oqtfc'y w 4 +jer-mann Z By PATENTED DEC. 3, 19 07.

H. LEMP. MOTOR DRIVEN BOAT. APPLIOATION FILED MAY 27, 1905.

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. In ve ntor "Herm By M,

Witnesses arwrw Lew-Twp M o "tily PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907.

H. LEMP. MOTOR DRIVEN BOAT. APPLICATION IILIID MAY 27, 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Witnesses:

- a tjly HERMANN LEMP, OF LYNN,

MASSACHlfSl-l'lTS, ASSIGNOR 'lU (ll-.NEIH I, ELECTRIC COMPANY,

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MOTOR-DRIVEN BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1907 Application filed May 27.1905. Serial No. 262.571.

To all whom it may comern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN LEMP, a citizen of the United- States, residing at Lynn, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Driven Boats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to motor driven ves sels, suchfor example as ferry launches or other small power driven boats. It has for one of its objects to so arrange the arts of the power apparatus and the control mg: mechanism as-to render navigation comparatively easy and certain with a minimum of attendance.

It also has for its object to provide certain features of construction which have particular reference to the arrangement of the propellingsystem so that in case of accident, such as collision, fire, or failure of some part, the entire'power apparatus is less likely to be wholly incapacitated.

In carrying out the invention, I provide separate. motors which are preferably autoated.

. and made of metal,

matically-governed constant-speed gas or oil engines of any approved character. Each engine is ada ted to drive a fore and an aft propeller sha t, clutches being provided between the engine and their respective shafts, so that either set of ropellers can be coupled or uncoupledaccording to the direction to be traveled. Also with this arrangement the turning of the vessel can be easily accomplishe For exam le, to makea starboard turn the starboard-film and the portaft-propellers are operated at the same time, and to make a ort turn, the port-fore and the starboard-a propellers are simultaneously oper- Thethull, which is preferably scow shaped is divided by a longitudinal bulkhead into entirely inde endent compartments which are accessib e only from'the deck, and the engines are located midship in the compartments. The bulkhead t us divides the power apparatus into completely isolated units which are adapted to be operated and controlled inde endently. This reduces the liability of tota ly stalling the power system in case of accident to some part, or in case either compartment should sprin a serious leak resulting from collision or ot erwise. In order to further increase the safety; on this score, transverse bulk heads, adJacent the stem and stern, are pro- The clutches between the propeller shafts and the engines may be of any desired construction, but I prefer, however, those of the magnetically operated type with change s weed gearing. Being of the magnetic type the clutches can be operated from a remote point, such as the pilot-house. Th s irovision in connection with the fact that the engines are adapted to fill continuously and are automatically governed to maintain substa tially constant speed for all loads, renders the entire control of the boat possible from thepilot house. This means that the boat can be readily managed by one man, thus lessening the operating expense. In the pilot-house I provide electric switches for controlling the circuits of the magnetic clutches between the pro )eller shafts and the engines and so arrange tiem as to be readily operated from a position at either of the steering or rudder wheels, in order to enable the pilot to couple or unoouple any or all of the propelle shal'ts with one hand and at the same timesteering with the other. He can thus change from forward to reverse propulsion, or turn or stop the vessel, with great facility.

For a fuller understanding ofthe invention, attention is directed to the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, and to the claims appended'hereto.

In the accom )anyingdrawings which illustratc an embodiment of the invention, Figure 1 is a diagram of the controlling circuits of the magnetic clutches employed between the shafts of the engines and the propellers; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the ureter driven boat having a portionof the hull broken away to show one of the units of the power system; Fig. dis a horizontal section of the hull; Fig. 4 is a sectional lan of the pilothouse showing the control ing mechanisms; and Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section thereof.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, 1 re )resents the hull of the boat which is preferably ofthe scow type and made of metal with water tight and fire-proof compartments. The hull is divided from stem to stern by a bulkhead 2 forming two longitudinal compartments completely separated and independout. These compartments are further divided by transverse bulkheads 23, forming other the port clutches.

two or more smaller compartments adjacent the stem and stern and relatively larger compartments located midship. Arranged in the midship compartments 4 are the motors for operating the propeller shafts. These are. preferably internal combustion engines 5 of any approved construction and they are intended to operate continuously at substantially constant s eed. suitable overning mechanism or this purpose may e em loyed. The engines are adapted to drive ore and aft propeller shafts 6 and 7 which extend through the transverse bulkheads and carry at their outer ends propellers 8. As the engines operatecontin'uously only in one direction, bo'th fore and aft propellers are constructed the reverse of each other. Hence, only one shaft of each engine is adapted to operate at a time, depending upon the direction of travel. Clutches are provided between the shai ts and the engines for this purpose. The clutches are shown diagrammatically at 9. These can be of any approved construction, preferably including suitable gearing so that various propelling speeds may be obtained.

The engines each drive a dynamo 10 which serves to furnish current for lighting the boat, for the ignition system of the engines and for the clutches. Each engine may also drive an emergency pump to be used in case of leakage in any of the compartments. It will thus be seen that each engine and its auxiliary apparatus is completely independent so that one or the other will most likely be available at all times in case of accident. Access to each engine compartment is provided from the deck or the passenger cabin 11 by separate companion ways 12, Fig. 3.

Located on the second deck or the cabin is a pilot-house 13 which is accessible from the main deck by companion ways 14,-Fig. 2. In the pilot-house are fore and aft rudder steering wheels 15 which are mechanically connected or otherwise to the rudders 16, and adjacent each wheel is a set of. two controllers which are adapted to control the switches of the clutch. circuits, Figs. 4 and 5. According to their location they maybe described as fore-starboard and port-controllers 17 and 18, respectively, and aft-starboard and 'port-cmitrollers 1E) and 20, respectively. The two port-controllers are mechanically connected by links 21, Figs. 1, 4 and 5, as are also the Sllal'l)Oztftl-GOIIU'OllQIS, so that any of the circuits can be opened or closed by the pilot-while operating either oi the steering wheels. Connected with each link 2] is a double-throw switch 22, one controlling the starboard clutches and the The switches are located in a casingflil under the lioor of the pilot-house to which access is bad through a door 24.

Referring to Fig. 1, 25 and 26 are mains supplied with current from the dynamos for operating the clutches. Connected 1n paral'- lel with'the mains are four clutch circuits 27 which are controlled by the double-throw. switches 22.

In the figure the clutches are shown diagrammatically, no attempt being made to show structural features.

The operation is as follows: Assumin the engines to be operating,- the propeller s afts idle, and the controllers in mid position as shown in Fig. 1. In order to start the-boat to travel in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 2 the pilot, standing at the fore steering wheel, Figs. 4 and 5, throws the controllers adjacent him toward the left or in the direction indicated by the arrow, thereby closing the circuits of the two aft clutches. The stern propeller shafts are thus coupled to the en me and the boat driven forward. When it IS desired to stop propulsion, the controllers are thrown to mid position, or if it is desired to stop suddenly, the controllers are thrown to the extreme right, thereby connecting the stem propellers to the engin to backwater. The controllers are also moved to the latter sired to reverse propu sion. In order to as sist the steering or turning of the vessel the osition when it is ,de-

propellers may also be employed in connection with the rudders, in which case, one controller is thrown to the extreme left and the other to the extreme right, according to the direction to be traveled.

In accordance with the provisions offthe patent statutes, 1 have described the principle of operation of my invention together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

What I claim as ew and desire to secure by Letters Patent oi the United States, is,

1. In a motor driven, boat, the combination of a hull, a longitudinal bulkhead dividing the hull into two water-tight compartmcnts, a continuously operating rime mover in each compartment, propeller s rafts, electrically operated clutches for connecting and disconnecting the propeller shafts with respect to the prime movers, and controllers for the clutches located adjacent the steering wheel of the boat.

2. in a motor drivenboat, the combination of a plurality of automatically and. continuously operated internal combustion engines, fore and aft propeller shafts for each engine, independently actuated electricallycontrolled powertransmitting connections between the shafts and their respective engines, and controllers for said connections 10 cated adjacent the steering wheel of the boat.

3. In a motor driven boat, the combiner tion of a plurality of continuously-operating automatically-governed internal combustion engines, propeller shafts, electricallyaontrolled tween t 1e shafts and the engines, separate circuits controlling said connections, and separate sets of controllers located to be op erated from different points for opening and closin the said circuits. 1

4. n a motor driven boat, the combination of a hull, a longitudinal bulkhead which divides the hull into independent compartments, an automatically-governed internal combustion engine in each compartment, fore and aft propeller shafts for each engine, electrically controlled power transmitting ower transmitting connections beconnections between the shafts and the engines, separate circuits controllin the said connections, a pilot-house, means ocated in the pilot-house for opening and closing said circuits, and separate sets of controllers located at different points in the ilot-house for operating the circuit controlling means.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 24th day of May, 1905.

HERMAN LEMP.

Witnesses: Join: A. 1\ICIVIANUS,JI2,

HENRY O. WESTENDARP. 

